Adapter hook for conveyor systems and loading station for an adapter hook

ABSTRACT

An adapter hook for conveyor systems, especially for garments, comprises an upper suspension, which can be hung from a rail or a conveyor mechanism for the transport of objects, and a lower holding mechanism, by means of which one or more hangers can be received. According to the invention, the lower holding mechanism has a swivel lever for the receiving of one or more hangers, which can be secured by a locking mechanism. By means of the swivel lever it is possible to close a preferably downwardly open receptacle, so that automatic loading with one or more hangers can be accomplished with the adapter hook. Furthermore, a corresponding loading station for an adapter hook is specified.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application claims priority to German Patent Applicationde10359859.6, filed on Dec. 18, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to an adapter hook for conveyor systems,especially for garments, with an upper suspension, which can be hungfrom a rail or a conveyor mechanism for the transport of objects, and alower holding mechanism, by means of which one or more hangers can bereceived. In addition, the invention relates to a loading station forsuch an adapter hook.

2. Description of Prior Art

DE 196 14 905 discloses a conveying pocket for a hanger conveyor, inwhich a latch is provided for the transport of carriers, being mountedon the conveying pocket, and its axis is arranged behind the bearingpoint in the transport direction. In this way, the latch can be held inthe closed position by gravity. The drawback of this conveying pocket isthat it cannot be used for standardized conveyor rails, and inadvertentopening of the latch cannot be entirely ruled out. For unloading andopening of the latch, one must first lift up the object suspended fromthe latch. Thus, lifting work has to be expended, and it is mechanicallydifficult to allow for the undefined forces, which depend on gravity,and this can only be accomplished by costly guiding systems.

WO 96/29267 discloses an adapter hook for a conveyor system, in which anupper hook can be used for a standardized conveyor rail. For thispurpose, a hanger being transported is introduced with an upper hookinto a slot in the adapter hook from underneath and secured there by adetent mechanism. The drawback here is that the loading process ismanual and the detent mechanism is specially designed for a particulartype of hanger. Moreover, it is not possible to transport severalhangers at the same time with this adapter hook, and it is alsoconceivable that the loading cannot be accomplished entirely at thedetent mechanism.

Finally, another adapter hook is known from DE 195 00 612, which can behung from a standardized conveyor rail. In the lower region, the adapterhook has two slotted legs, in which a hanger can be suspended. With thisadapter hook as well there is the drawback that only certain hangers canbe accommodated and automatic loading and unloading is scarcelypossible. Furthermore, the leverage conditions are disadvantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the goal of the present invention to create an adapterhook and a loading station for an adapter hook in which it is possibleto use the adapter hook on standardized conveyor rails, and simple andsafe loading and unloading are made possible for one or more hangers.

This goal is achieved with an adapter hook for conveyor systems,especially for garments, with an upper suspension, which can be hungfrom a rail or a conveyor mechanism for the transport of objects, and alower holding mechanism, by means of which one or more hangers can bereceived, characterized in that the lower holding mechanism has a swivellever for the receiving of one or more hangers, which can be secured bya locking mechanism. Additionally, a loading station for an adapter hookaccording to one of the foregoing claims with a conveyor rail for theadapter hook and a loading rail arranged underneath for the feeding ofhangers, characterized in that an activating mechanism is provided forreleasing a locking mechanism and for releasing a swivel lever for theloading of a lower holder mechanism with one or more hangers.

According to the invention, the adapter hook comprises a lower holdermechanism to receive one or more hangers, on which a swivel lever isarranged, which can be secured via a locking mechanism. In this way,inadvertent swiveling of the lever is prevented, so that the hangerloaded in the receptacle cannot drop out accidentally. Such a lockingmechanism is also especially suitable for automatic loading andunloading, since mechanical activation can be arranged at specificpoints in a conveying system. If the holder mechanism is designed forone or more hangers, the adapter hook can furthermore have universalapplication and is not limited to a particular type of hanger. The term“adapter hook” should thus also encompass configurations in which not ahook but rather different means of fastening are provided in the upperregion, which can be secured from a conveyor belt, a conveying chain, acable, etc. Even then, the adapter hook can be used for correspondingtransport purposes.

Preferably, the swivel lever can close a receptacle that is open at thebottom, in which one or more hangers can be introduced. The downwardlyopen receptacle can be loaded especially easily with hangers. If arotational axis of the swivel lever is arranged essentiallyperpendicularly to a transport direction of the adapter hook, when theadapter hook is moving in the transport direction the lever can swivelalready from one or more hangers bearing against it, without the need toprovide a separate drive unit or other means.

According to a preferred embodiment, the swivel lever has a lower leg tosupport one or more hangers. The leg thus forms a bearing surface forthe hangers. Adjoining the lower leg of the swivel lever, one canprovide a front bearing surface (in the transport direction), by meansof which a hanger can be oriented essentially perpendicularly to thetransport direction. The bearing surface preferably has a greater widththan the swivel lever, so that a corresponding orienting effect occurs.

If the swivel lever is essentially C-shaped and a pivot axis is arrangedon the upper leg, the swivel lever in the loaded state will already beurged in an opening direction by gravity. Due to the locking mechanism,however, such an opening movement is prevented, and for automaticunloading it is necessary only to release the locking mechanism for theswivel lever to move into the open position by gravity, so that loadedhangers can fall off.

If the lower leg of the swivel lever forms a bearing surface for thehanger and is configured to drop off at an inclination in the transportdirection, the position of a loaded hanger can be determined precisely,since the hanger will slide against a front wall by virtue of theincline, which lies for example in a range of 10 to 30°. Thus, anorienting at the bearing surface also occurs at this front wall.

Preferably, the receptacle has a rear wall and the swivel lever can bepassed through a slot in the rear wall, so that the adapter hook has anessentially closed configuration from the outside.

For easy receiving of the hangers, the swivel lever is arranged betweena front wall and a rear wall, and the rear wall projects downward pastthe front wall. In this way, for automatic loading, by moving theadapter hook in the transport direction a hanger can pass the frontwall, push the swivel lever, and then be carried away at the rear wall.

The locking mechanism can be easily configured by a lever, which in afirst position forms a stop for the swivel lever and in another positionreleases the movement of the swivel lever. Other mechanical means forlocking of the swivel lever are also conceivable, however.

According to the invention, a loading station for an adapter hook isalso provided, having a conveying rail for the adapter hook and aloading rail arranged underneath for the feeding of hangers, wherein anactivating mechanism is provided for the releasing of a lockingmechanism and releasing of a swivel lever for the loading of a bottomholder mechanism with one or more hangers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in greater detail herein below by means of anexemplary embodiment in relation to the attached drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an exemplary embodiment of an adapter hookaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the adapter hook of FIG. 1 from the oppositeside;

FIG. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the adapter hook of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the adapter hook of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the adapter hook of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an adapter hook of FIG. 1 in a loadingstation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Adapter hook 1 has a body 2, made of plastic for example, on which anupper hook 3 is mounted. The hook 3 is configured so that it can be usedon standardized conveyor rails, especially for the transport of hangersfor garments. Instead of the hook, a bolt or other mechanical connectionelement could also be provided, such as can be combined with acorresponding conveyor mechanism.

The adapter hook 1 has a bottom holder mechanism on which a swivel lever4 is arranged. The swivel lever 4 can move through a slot 6 in a rearwall 5. The slot 6 is arranged inside the body 2.

Moreover, a lever 7 is mounted on the base body 2 for locking the swivellever 4. The lever 7 can turn about a pivot axis 8 and is held in alocked position by a spring 9.

As can be seen in the cutaway view of FIG. 3, the lever 7 has aprojection 10 in a lower end segment, which forms a bearing surface withrespect to the swivel lever 4. In an upper region, the lever 7 is heldby the spring 9 in the locked position, while an upper activatingsegment of the lever 7 is accessible from the outside through a recessin the body 2.

In FIG. 4 the function of the swivel lever 4 can be clearly seen. Theswivel lever 4 in the closed position delimits a downwardly openreceiving space 14, the swivel lever 4 being C-shaped and its lower leghaving a bearing surface 12, which is configured to drop off at anincline, viewed in the transport direction. In FIG. 4, the adapter hook1 would move from right to left in the transport direction. Thereceiving space 14 is open transversely to the direction of transportand delimited in front by a front wall 13, which has a greater widththan the swivel lever 4.

In the loading process, the adapter hook is moved in the transportdirection and an object being loaded, such as a garment hanger, standsready and waiting in the region of the lower holder mechanism. This thenpresses against a front edge of the swivel lever 4, by which this canswivel backward through the rear wall 5 when the locking mechanism isopen. After the swivel movement, the garment hanger lies against therear wall 5 and from here it is introduced into the receiving space 14.Once the garment hanger is in the receiving space 14, the swivel lever 4can swivel back by gravity into the closed position and the lockingmechanism 7 closes and thus secures the closed position of the swivellever 4. The loaded hanger then lies on the bearing surface 12 of theswivel lever 4 and slides by virtue of the incline against the frontwall 13, which orients of the hanger transversely to the direction oftransport.

For the unloading of the garment hanger, one need only release thelocking mechanism by swiveling the lever 7, so that the swivel lever 4can be swiveled through the rear wall 5. The swivel lever 4 will executesuch a swivel motion due to the gravity of the hanger.

FIG. 6 shows a loading station for an adapter hook 1 according to theinvention. The loading station comprises a feed rail 20 for garmenthangers 24. The loading rail 20 is arranged sloping upward at an angleto a loading ramp 21, so that the hanger 24 slides by gravity onto theloading ramp 21. The hanger 24 remains on the loading ramp 21 until anadapter hook 1 is brought up. The adapter hook 1 is carried by the upperhook 3 on a conveyor rail 25 and is moved in the transport direction viatransport means 26. In the lower region, the adapter hook 1 is carriedby a pusher 27, which is arranged on a chain 28 and moves at the sametransport speed as the means of transport 26. In this way, swiveling ofthe adapter hook 1 is prevented. The adapter hook 1 is moved on the ramp21 until the hanger 24 rests against the back wall 5 and the swivel hook4 is in the backwardly open swiveled position. Next, the hanger 24 ismoved together with the adapter hook 1, whereupon thanks to an upwardlyinclined ramp 23 when moving in the transport direction the hanger 24 islifted and thereby introduced into the receiving space 14 from below. Assoon as the hanger 24 is in the receiving space 14 and no longer lyingagainst the front edge on the swivel lever 4, the swivel lever 4 swingsinto the closed position and can then be locked. For the locking, aplate 29 is provided at the loading station, being arranged in theregion of the recess on the body 2, at which the upper end of the lever7 is accessible. The plate 29 has a slant that presses against the upperend of the lever 7 and thus releases the locking mechanism, so that thestop 10 is disengaged from the swivel lever 4. For as long as the plate29 is pressing against the upper end of the lever 7, the swivel lever 4can swing freely. After the hanger 24 has been introduced into thereceiving space 14, the lever 7 is released by the plate 29 or its endand moves by the force of spring 9 into the locked position and theswivel lever 4 can no longer swing. After the end of the ramp 21, thehanger 24 lies on the bearing edge 12 of the swivel lever 4, which isheld securely by the locking mechanism. The front wall 13 still providesfor orientation of the hanger 24 at this time.

In the exemplary embodiment depicted, only one hanger 24 is represented,being received at the loading station. It is of course possible tointroduce several hangers at the same time on the adapter hook 1 at theloading station. The receiving space 14 is then dimensioned so that oneor more hangers 24 can be received at the same time and also differenttypes of hangers 24, for example including plastic hangers, having alarger dimension in the vertical direction, can be accommodated. Asneeded, the receiving space 14 can be one or more centimeters in lengthand in height.

Instead of the lever 7, other locking mechanisms can also be providedfor locking the movement of the swivel lever 4, for example by means ofsliders or other mechanical arrangements. The prestressing of the lever7 in the locked position can be accomplished by clamping mechanismsother than the spring 9, or even by gravity.

Furthermore, a coding, a chip, or another means can be provided infamiliar fashion on the adapter hook 1, so as to enable the loadedobjects to be identified.

The swivel lever 4 can also have a geometry different from the indicatedC-shape contour, without thereby departing from the framework of theinvention.

1. Adapter hook for conveyor systems, especially for garments, with anupper suspension, which can be hung from a rail or a conveyor mechanismfor the transport of objects, and a lower holding mechanism, by means ofwhich one or more hangers can be received, wherein the lower holdingmechanism has a swivel lever for the receiving of one or more hangers,which can be secured by a locking mechanism (7).
 2. Adapter hookaccording to claim 1, wherein the swivel lever can close a downwardlyopen receptacle, into which one or more hangers can be introduced. 3.Adapter hook according to claim 1, wherein a pivot axis of the swivellever is arranged essentially perpendicularly to a transport directionof the adapter hook.
 4. Adapter hook according to claim 1, wherein theswivel lever has a lower leg for supporting one or more hangers. 5.Adapter hook according to claim 4, wherein a front bearing surface isformed in the transport direction adjacent to the lower leg of theswivel lever, by means of which a hanger can be oriented essentiallyperpendicularly to the transport direction.
 6. Adapter hook according toclaim 1, wherein the swivel lever is essentially C-shaped and a pivotaxis is arranged on the upper leg.
 7. Adapter hook according to claim 1,wherein the lower leg of the swivel lever forms a bearing surface for ahanger and is configured to drop off on a slant, viewed in the transportdirection.
 8. Adapter hook according to claim 1, wherein the receptaclehas a rear wall and the swivel lever can be moved through a slot in therear wall.
 9. Adapter hook according to claim 1, wherein the swivellever is arranged between a front wall and a rear wall and the rear wallprojects downwardly past the front wall.
 10. Adapter hook according toclaim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is formed by a lever, which in afirst position forms a stop for the swivel lever and in a secondposition releases a movement of the swivel lever.
 11. Adapter hookaccording to claim 10, wherein the lever can swing about a pivot axissituated parallel to the transport direction.
 12. Loading station for anadapter hook according to claim 1, with a conveyor rail for the adapterhook and a loading rail arranged underneath for the feeding of hangers,wherein an activating mechanism is provided for releasing a lockingmechanism and for releasing a swivel lever for the loading of a lowerholder mechanism with one or more hangers.